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Would there be any charge to remove the electric junction box for the storage heating?

  • 21 May 2018
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ducati9981
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Hi

I have recently moved into my new house and removed all old storage heaters in place of gas central heating later on. Currently I rely on my log burner for heat at present. This 1 electric meter has 2 readings, one for normal and one for economy 7. Now, would I benefit having a single tariff and would there be any charge to remove the electric junction box for the storage heating so I can narrow it down to one junction box because at the moment it looks a mess. I would also like moved the 100amp fuse because of it being close to the door. I am also currently having smart meters on both gas and electric installed on June 15th.

Any help would be much appreciated.
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Best answer by PeterR1947 8 June 2018, 19:32

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PeterR1947
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Could you take a picture of the set up then I should be able to advise - both the junction box and the 100Amp fuse
Transparent
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Hi @ducati9981,

There is a good opportunity to move the 100A fuse whilst the Smart Meter is being installed because the engineer will probably have to snip the security-tag anyway. But he won't just move the fuse holder for you because:

1. that's outside his remit unless there's a safety issue requiring it to be relocated

2. the fuse (and the board it's fixed to) is the property of the Distributed Network Operator (DNO) for your geographical area

We need a bit more info to help further.

As @PeterR1947 says, a photo uploaded here would be great.

And please fill out your Forum Profile. It tells us the basic info we need to know, like the region you're in.

If you don't know which is your DNO, start by downloading this PDF document which has a map and list of their contact numbers.
Save energy... recycle electrons!
ducati9981
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Could you take a picture of the set up then I should be able to advise - both the junction box and the 100Amp fuse

Hi Peter

Please see enclosed photograph, please excuse the mess as I'm currently renovating my newly owned home.

Please note that DB2 in the picture is the one for storage heaters which I require to be remove and the 100amp fuse is far to close to the door for my liking and needs to be moved.
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PeterR1947
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Updated on 22/04/22 by Jess_OVO

 

Some really technical questions to ask here now you’ve removed your storage heaters.

For a full low-down on who’s responsible for what in terms of your meter set-up, check out this guide. As your fuse is the responsibility of your DNO you’ll need to get in touch with them to discuss getting this moved closer to your consumer unit. Any wiring beyond your meter (such as an electrical junction box) should be maintained by contacting a registered electrician.

In terms of switching from your current Economy 7 to a single rate plan, this is easily done once you’ve had your meter replaced. A smart meter can be remotely switched from dual rate to single rate. Just reach out to our Support Team once the smart meters are installed. They’ll let you know the unit rate on the Anytime version of your current plan, which will be applied from the date your meter mode is changed. It’s usually cost-effective to switch to a single rate plan if your night time usage is less than 30% of your overall usage.

Hope this information is helpful and you manage to get the wiring tidied up! :relaxed:

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

 

Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!

 

ducati9981
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Yes, all possible. Technically as your DB for the storage heaters is connected directly to the meter it should be your Electricity Supplier who does this work. However, if you are nice to the man who comes to fit the smart meter, he might just disconnect the wires for you.

As regards to moving the fuse, that would have to be your electricity supplier; personally I would phone them and say the it is dangerous where it is fitted as it looks as though you might have had a leak above it - rub it in well, the H&S approaches usually works. Normally they would charge for doing this work and charge handsomely (usually quotes are c £1000 which means they don't want to do the work.)

As for the Economy seven question, go to www.uswitch.com and get a quote for with and without E7 - you would need to guess how much you will use at night. I would expect that getting rid of E7 would be best but it does depend on your usage. I think, but I'm not sure that the smart meter can be remotely programmed but I might be wrong, perhaps Tim_OVO might answer that one

Hi Peter

Many thanks for your reply and also thanks for the advice on the matter as that fuse is too close to the door for my liking and the mains wire cable looks very short and will need a fully qualified electrician to move and lengthen the existing cable or perhaps install new. I went round to my next door neighbour's and their fuse is not directly by the door like mine which tells me that it needs to be moved and yes does look dangerous where it is. I will ask the person who is coming to fit my smart meters to see whether he can move it or make another appointment to have the work done.

Regarding the storage heaters I have asked OVO via telephone to be put on a Single Rate Tariff rather than having 2. This can be done at the touch of a button once the smart meter has been installed and they are aware of that I want to convert to Single Rate because I'm having modern Gas Central Heating installed at a later date.

Many thanks for all your replies and Peter, you have been a big help, thank you.
ducati9981
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Hi Peter

This is the setup from my next door neighbour's house. Can you see the difference compared to mine and how the fuse is away from the door.
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PeterR1947
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Much neater and safer, just make sure you lay on the Health and Safety aspect, especially water ingress, thickly and i think you should get it done for nothing. Best of luck and let us know how you get on. You could also tell them a Chrtered Electrical Engineer had a look and said it looked unsafe (because I am C.Eng, MIET)
Tim_OVO
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Great advice here thanks guys!

We can certainly change your smart meter / tariff to single rate one @ducati9981 - we'll make the change once the smart meters are in. You'll go onto the single rate prices available at the time of your contract start date!
Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6

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